Summary

Chapter 6, “The Last of the Mohicans and Andrew Jackson’s White Republic,” begins with the historical event known as the Louisiana Purchase, in which the United States—under the direction of President Thomas Jefferson—purchased a large area of land known as the Louisiana Territory from the French. This territory, located to the west of the U.S.’s established states, was very large, and it encompassed many Native civilizations. Thus, this purchase essentially represented the United States’ intention to take that land from those Native communities by force. After the Louisiana Purchase, Natives had to perform trade and commerce almost exclusively with the United States. The U.S. leveraged resulting debts by demanding that Natives cede more of their land. In conjunction, the U.S. also continued its violence against Natives. The author writes that Jefferson was therefore a key architect of this...